


When Our Future Is On The Balance

by maaldas



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-18
Updated: 2013-02-18
Packaged: 2017-11-29 17:20:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/689506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maaldas/pseuds/maaldas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mated couple Jared and Jensen are expecting their first child, Jensen is an Alpha (leader or not of his pack, i don't care) and Jared is the Beta or Omega with a bun in the oven.</p><p>During the first 5 months of the pregnancy Jared gets a really nasty cold that might put the baby in danger, Jensen is overprotective of his mate and takes care of him [NOT in their werewolf form] until he gets all better. Happy ending would be VERY appreciated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> BETA: theendermen
> 
> Originally written as fill for a lovely prompt by elenies_mind on spnkink_meme.
> 
> Disclaimer : All real people you’re about to read here? Never met them, certainly don’t own them.

The sudden blare of the alarm jolts Jensen awake from his deep slumber. His hand reaches out blindly toward the bedside table to snap the offending sound off. The clock clatters for few seconds before his fingers finally find the right button and silence returns, to their comfort. Jensen frowns slightly because it feels odd for him to be woken up by alarm clock in the morning. Not because he usually wakes up earlier but because Jared is the one who wakes him up every morning. Ever since they entered _mateship_ and lived together for a year he never, not even once, heard the alarm. He even forgets that he still has it. Jared always wakes up early to shut off the alarm button before waking him up in the more pleasurable way. The fact that Jared misses this morning ritual uneases his stomach a little, especially considering his condition.

Jensen turns around from his earlier position facing the door to the other side of the bed where he finds his mate curls up on his left side under the blanket with half his face buried into the pillow. His longish hair obscures the rest of his face. Jensen takes a moment to enjoy the sight, to soak in the blissful moment that is their life. He brings his face close to Jared’s and whispers in what Jared always says as his mellow voice.

“Baby, wake up.”

When Jared does not stir he tucks Jared’s hair behind his ear and rubs his thumb on Jared’s right eyebrow tenderly.

“Jared, come one wake up. You need to do your morning walk, remember?”

This time Jared stirs. He scrunches up his nose and lets out a sigh into the pillow, making Jensen think of himself as a pervert because that sigh and that adorable scrunched up nose are the most sexy things in the morning. It kind of turns him on, honestly. But Jensen is an honourable mate and Alpha. He thinks about the wellbeing of his mate before succumbing to his own urges, no matter how painful it is. Several months ago he might not think twice on jumping Jared’s bones. He might even knot him right away when he had the slightest urge but now with Jared’s delicate condition there are many things at stakes here that Jensen must be careful with his action.

Jared blinks sleepily, focusing his eyes at Jensen’s face which is now sporting the goofiest grin Jared ever saw.

“Morning goofy,” mutters Jared.

“Morning grumpy.”

Jensen sneaks a hand down Jared’s stomach and rubs the swell down there while saying, “How’s my son today?” still with the wide happy smile sticking on his face.

“Your son is still sleeping and he wants his mommy to sleep too,” answers Jared, eyes already closed.

“Now, don’t be like that. You’re always a morning person.” Jensen then frowns a little. He lifts his head off the pillow to lean over Jared’s form. “What’s going on Jared? Are you feeling alright?”

Jared opens his eyes again to see Jensen’s face cloudy with worry. He pulls his right hand out of the blanket and plants his palm on Jensen’s left cheek.

“It’s ok, Jen. No need to worry. I’m fine. Just tired’s all,” says Jared with a reassuring smile on his lips that does nothing to Jensen’s already concerned mind.

Jensen holds Jared’s hand on his cheek and kisses his palm while he scans his mate’s face, noting his pale complexion and droopy eyes. He touches the back of his hand on Jared’s forehead, feeling his higher than normal temperature. Emma says it is normal for an omega to have higher body temperature when pregnant. It is the low temp that should be worried about. So, there is nothing wrong with Jared’s temperature but, still, the lack of color on Jared’s skin worries Jensen.

“You should probably rest today,” says Jensen.

“That’s the idea. Glad you’re finally on board.” Jared retrieves his hand and hides it again under the blanket to keep warm.

“Alright, I’ll call Misha to cancel today’s meeting.” Jensen reaches out his hand to get his phone on his bedside table but he frowns when he finds it is not there. Then he remembers leaving his phone on his office desk downstairs. He scoots off the bed, leaving Jared under the cocoon of the warm blanket.

“Jensen wait,” Jared snatches Jensen’s wrist to stop him from moving off the bed, “You don’t have to do that. Today’s meeting is important, you can’t cancel it. I’ll be fine after resting, no need to worry.”

Jensen scoots back to the middle of the bed to rub at Jared’s arm. “You’re more important. I’m not risking having anything bad happen to you while I’m not here.” He leans over to kiss Jared’s forehead before saying, “I’ll be right back.”

Jared closes his eyes, feeling Jensen’s cold lips touch his warm skin. Jensen slips out of bed before Jared can stop him so he settles back under the blanket in order to gather more energy. He hopes he can get rid some of the weakness and convinces Jensen to go to the office. He hates to be the reason behind Jensen staying out of his Alpha duty. He knows no one will blame him but Jared will still feel guilty anyway.

One minute later Jensen returns to their bedroom to find Jared dozing off. He lets him sleep and go down to the kitchen to make breakfast. He opens the top right cabinet to bring down eggs, bread, a jar of jelly and a bottle of honey. Then he brings out lemon from the frigs. Emma has written down Jared’s diet in detail and Jensen always stock up on it in their kitchen cabinet.

Jensen makes scrambled eggs without cheese, mixes some parsley and garlic in it before setting it down on a plate. Then he spreads jelly on two pieces of toast. Last, he makes warm lemon juice with two spoonful of honey. He lays them out on a serving tray then treks back up the stairs to his mate.

He strolls in to Jared’s side of the bed, sits on the edge to put the tray on the bedside table. He peels the blankets off Jared’s body revealing his protruding belly. Jensen rubs his bump, leaning over to kiss his shoulder.

“Jay, wake up,” he calls softly, “breakfast’s here.”

Jared seems to be only in a light sleep because he wakes up instantly, stretching up his long limbs and turning over. He eyes the tray on the bedside table with a content smile on his lips. “Hmmm… breakfast in bed, lucky me.”

“We both are,” Jensen corrects him. “Now, d’you know what’ll make it better?” Jensen helps Jared up and props the pillows behind his back, “is for you to finish this awesome and healthy breakfast then you can go back to your rest.”

After securing the blanket around Jared’s legs up to his thigh and covering half of his stomach, Jensen picks up the egg plate and puts it on Jared’s upper thigh before handing him the fork. Next he puts the toast plate on his mate’s lower thigh near his knees. He watches Jared eats the eggs and nibbles on the toast with his right hand propped over Jared’s legs. It’s not like he does not trust Jared to eat all his breakfast, after all he knows that Jared will not do anything that can jeopardize their pup, it is seriously unheard of but Jensen wants to make sure that Jared is alright. Ever since Jared became pregnant there is always this uneasiness that quietly nags at him. He pushes it far away at the back of his mind and concentrates on the well being of his mate instead. There are already enough deaths among Omegas. Jensen will not let it happen to his own. He has promised to himself that what happen to his mother and sister will not happen to Jared.

“You don’t have to stay with me all day,” Jared starts, “I’ll be fine after eating. I promise.”

‘It’s alright. I’ve called Misha to get the meeting rescheduled to later in the afternoon. I want to see you better.” Jensen strokes the back of his fingers to Jared’s cheek and says, “You’re still too pale.”

“I’m probably just tired. You worry too much,” Jared says offhandedly, scooping the last egg off the plate into his mouth along with the last bite of the toast.

“There’s no too much worrying when you’re dealing with a pregnant Omega. You know what condition our society is in right now,” says Jensen, looking right into Jared’s eyes, driving his point through. But Jared just takes his hand in his and says in a soft, yet confident voice, “and we’ll be better, thanks to you, Alpha.”

It never fails to lift up Jensen’s spirit whenever he hears Jared’s conviction and trust in him. As the sole Alpha of their pack, Jensen bears a daunting task of bringing their society of Wolf Clan to its recovery road. Sometimes the burden is so unbearable, having no living example to follow, no teachings to guide him except from few history books and old, fading manuscripts, that Jensen feels hopeless. He almost wishes he did not touch that Alpha Rod ten years back. Only when he looks at Jared’s assuring smile and the astounding amount of confidence and love shine in his eyes that Jensen finds again his purpose. At least if not for the pack, he is doing it for Jared because there is nothing more that Jensen wishes than to see Jared lives a long, healthy and happy life.

Jensen reaches for the lemon juice plus honey and giving it to Jared, then piles up his plates together and put them on the empty tray. He waits until Jared finishes up his juice before takes the glass and piles that too on the tray. He helps Jared laying back down, fluffing his pillow, fusses over his blanket a bit and kisses his forehead and lips several times.

“Beside, Emma said it’s normal for me to feel weak and tired easily.”

“You haven’t felt any weaknesses before except for those first few weeks of pregnancy.”

“Yes, I’ve been doing my exercise regularly, meditating every full moon, basically doing everything written on Amber’s ancient scroll, the ones that can be read at least. So, maybe my body just needs a down time.” Then Jared smirks teasingly, “maybe your son is just lazy.”

“Yeah, well, then we know who he takes it from,” Jensen counters back.

Jared gaps in a mock outrage. “Are you calling me lazy, Alpha?” He pinches Jensen’s stomach playfully.

“I didn’t even say that word.” Jensen adopts an innocent look with only the teasing glints on his eyes betray him.

“Right, keep doing it.”

A wide smile stretches Jensen’s lips when it descends to plant a long and thorough kiss on Jared’s. He follows it with small bites and licks, entices a moan out of his mate which then spikes his own arousal. He caught himself soon, though. No need to risk Jared’s already delicate state of health.

“Seriously, though, you should rest.” Jensen leans back up, rubbing Jared’s belly. “I’ll be at the office downstairs, ok?”

“Ok,” Jared nods, eyes already dropping again.

Jensen gets up from the bed, kisses Jared’s cheek and then walks around the bed to the door.

“Wake me up when you go to the courthouse for the meeting,” Jared calls out half asleep.

“Will do. Now, just relax and sleep.”

Jared is already sleeping when Jensen walks out of their bedroom. He closes the door quietly and goes down to his home office. He has a few calls to make.

  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	2. Two

Later, that day…

Jensen decides to hold the meeting by conference video call from his home office. He has called Emma, Jared’s Obs, two hours ago and told her about Jared’s condition. The young midwife assured Jensen that it is not unusual for a pregnant Omega or even a pregnant woman to feel tired and weak from time to time. It’s because their body have to compensate with supporting another life other than their own but she promised to come and do another check up. She was out of town the night before to do a routine check up on her heavily eight months pregnant cousin so she needs more time to reach Jensen’s house.

As an Obs for the pack Alpha’s Omega, Emma should not leave town until Jared gives birth but Jared insists that she should continue doing check up for her cousin since the other Omega is further along than him anyway and she lives not that far away. After all, Jared will feel bad if he has to selfishly hoard Emma’s time when her service is also needed elsewhere. He knows being the pack Alpha’s Omega comes with privileges like that, even Jensen insists on it, but Jared is never one for taking advantage of others. Instead, he wants to help the society as much as he can. The future of their clan is on the balance. He cannot just sit down and be pampered, having an Obs at his beck and call while Omegas have been dying left and right.

“More and more wolves trying to cross the border to plead allegiance to you,” says a tiny voice from the flat LED monitor in front of Jensen. “While we don’t see this as a problem to us but the human government does.”

“Since most of them refuse to return to their hometown I can see why the government is concerned,” a woman in her late forty with blond hair tied in a bun, Mandy Steward, one of the two female betas on Jensen’s council chimes in.

“The governor called the other day regarding this issue and I think we need to consider another law for this,” another guy in Jensen’s council suggests.

A man who sits at the end of the semi circular table scoffs at the suggestion. “Come now, the government is just being a fussy little cub. Our pack is growing and with the condition nowadays no wonder they want to come to us. We need as much unity as we can get.”

Jensen has been listening to his council members argue for the last ten minutes since he started the meeting. Sitting behind his desk, twirling his pen on his fingers, with half his mind on the meeting and half on his Omega, Jensen sighs restlessly. He has been checking on Jared quite regularly every thirty minutes and his mate stays sleeping. Color has returned on Jared’s cheek but not much. Jensen has half a mind to end the meeting an hour ago but he knows he cannot do that. He usually sets up regular meeting every Monday to discuss all things that may or may not become a problem to the pack. There is another meeting every month that invites all representatives off all wolves around Texas. In the old days, the representatives as well as council members are all Alphas but regarding recent situation Jensen has to make adjustments. Other than him, Jeff and Steven, the other members are all Betas.

“So, what’s behind this mass migration?” asks Jensen.

“I’ve been gathering info from the interviews that we’ve been doing these past weeks. Most of them just want to see you,” Misha says, gesturing to a pile of papers that sits quietly in front of him since the start of the meeting.

“To see me?” Jensen does not get it, “surely they’ve seen me, right? What’s with the media frenzy we get the past few years?” 

“Not only you but … YOU Jensen. All forms of you.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun has climbed high on the horizon when Jared wakes up alone, sneaking its warm lights between the cracks of the floor to ceiling curtain. He slowly takes inventory on his own body while his mind is rebooting. The weakness seems to evaporates somewhat, although, he still feels a little bit queasy. He rubs his belly while recalling past checkups, trying to remember about what to expect when his pregnancy reaches the fifth month. 

Fifth month is an important period for pup gestation. Unlike their human’s counterpart, the wolves only have two periods of gestation during eight months of pregnancy. The first four months gestation focus on the physical development which then determines whether the pup is an Alpha, Beta or Omega. The father’s involvement is highly required during this period; sex is advised although knotting should be kept to minimum.

Then, when the pregnancy reaches the second four months period the sex should be stopped altogether. According to Amber’s ancient manuscript, the old Clan would hold a holy ceremony for pregnant Omegas, females and males, to bless the pup. It is an important period because during the fifth month the _shwaha_ will enter the womb. When it happens, the mother will be able to communicate with the pup. The pup will start to move around actively, character will be developed and the mother’s hormones will be fluctuating. It is possible, even very advisable to start teaching the pup.

“So, what do you wanna do today,” Jared rubs his belly lovingly when a rush of feeling comes at him making him missing Jensen so bad. “We’ve been with daddy all night and this morning. Daddy’s probably working right now.” The rush of wants and longing intensifies and Jared rolls his eyes. “Why do you wanna see your daddy Jensen so bad? Don’t you miss me? I’m your daddy too you know?"

Ok, it is kind of silly for demanding his son's attention considering the pup is still inside his body but Jared thinks he is entitled to be unreasonable due to the fluctuating hormones.   
  
"... yes, yes, I’m your mommy _and_ your daddy. How cool’s that?” Jared smirks towards his belly. There’s a sharp jab on his right side that makes him wince, “ouch! Ok, ok … _mommy’_ s going.”

Jared huffs exasperatedly. His son can be very stubborn sometimes. He sits up and swings his swollen legs over the side of the bed, puts on his cotton robe before tidying up the bed. Next, he opens the curtains and the double door to the balcony to let the sunlight in and circulates the air inside the bedroom. Outdoor air is very good for the pup, especially fresh morning air. Jared has been doing walks every morning since he got pregnant. Not very far, just around the house compound for about an hour.

Jared stands between the open sliding glass doors, eyes closed and head tilts upward, both hands on the sill holding them wide open. Although, it is already late morning but the winds that sweeps from the woods surrounding the compound still feels fresh on Jared’s heated skin.  After taking a couple of deep breath Jared leaves the balcony with the doors wide open to look for Jensen.

The house is quiet when Jared walks down the hall but his hearing catches vague sounds from somewhere in the house. He stands near the rail that runs along the hallway of the second floor and leans over it a bit to listen to the subdued voices that seems to come from the first floor. Jared thinks he hears people’s voices that he wonders if Jensen receives guests in his office since the voices look like coming from that area of the house. He steps away from the railing to go downstairs but only after three steps he feels the floor starts to tilt sideways.

Jared hurriedly reaches out his hands to grab something. His hand gets a hold of a totem sculpture, a gift from Chad after his excursion to Africa last year, that sits on a half round table by the wall. He grabs hold of the statue tightly while taking deep breaths. His pup is moving restlessly inside his womb.

“Calm down, baby,” Jared says to his son, soothing the agitated little pup. A thought forms on Jared’s mind; it screams daddy. Jared knows his son means Jensen because until now he still thinks of Jared as his mother. Well, Jared technically is his mother, all Omegas are mothers regardless of their gender but he is also teaching his son to call him daddy since he is a guy. Trying is the better word because his son never seems to understand the concept of a male Omega. He hopes he will have better chance in explaining once the pup is outside of his body.

The wooziness is gone after a couple of minutes so Jared chalks it up to his fluctuating hormones and an overactive pup. “Alright, I’ll go downstairs to see your daddy only if you calm down.” When he feels the pup settles on the left side of his womb, Jared slowly lets go of the sculpture one hand at a time.

“Good boy,” Jared rubs his belly with a relieved smile on his lips. He turns around to go when his knees suddenly buckles, hands reaches back in reflect, scrambles over the table behind him to find purchase, knocking over the totem statue and sending it rolling on the floor with a loud thud.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jensen was in a heated discussion with his council when he hears a loud sound from outside his office. He intentionally lets the door to his office half open in case Jared needs him and calls. He perks up and concentrates on his heightened hearing to catch a sound of repeating thuds on the floor. Like something hitting the wooden floor over and over.

“Alright everyone hold that thought, please.” When his council ceases their discussion or arguments more like, he addresses Misha to take over the table. “Can you take over just a minute?”

Misha nodded at him and the other council members looks at him with understanding. He has explained to them at the beginning of the meeting and he is sure that Misha has filled on them about the reason why the meeting is being held by video conference. They immediately voiced their concern when Jensen told them that Jared does not feel well. Omegas well being is the highest concern in the Wolf Clan society nowadays. It is the main reason why Jensen rebuilds the pack, to save Omegas because without Omegas the Wolf Clan will die out.

“Hasn’t Emma come, yet?” asked a very concerned Misha.

“She should’ve been by now. Just carry on everyone!”

Jensen stands up, snatches his phone off the table and strides over to the door. He leaves his office’s door open before stepping into the hallway to the living room. When he nearly reaches the stair he finds the totem statue laying down at the bottom of the stairs. He lifts it up before climbing the stairs, calling Jared’s name.

“Jared, I found this ugly statue down the stairs. Do you-…”

Jensen’s heart leaps out of his throat when halfway up the stairs he saw Jared struggling to hold his body up on his wobbly legs with both hands holding on tightly on the side of the half round table near the wall. The totem rolls back down the stairs with its loud thuds overlapping the sound of Jensen’s feet slapping the floor in his desperation to reach Jared’s side.

“No, no, no, no, no, no,… Jared…” Jensen catches Jared’s body in his arms and his mate instantly goes limp.

“It’s … alright Jen, … just feeling woo…oozy ‘lil bit,” Jared mutters over Jensen’s shirt where he was pressing his face on. Oh, how have Jensen heard that words before. First time he heard it just before his mother fell down in her own kitchen. Before his family rushed her over to the hospital and she never came back home.

Jensen drops down on the floor with Jared’s body held tightly in his arms, propped over his folded knees. He keeps calling his mate’s name trying to keep him awake. “Jared, please stay awake, please… Jay…”

“Imma ….wake…” mumbled the pregnant Omega drowsily. Cold sweat beads his forehead and neck. His temperature is dropping down and he is struggling to stay awake.

“I’m going to bring you to the hospital, ok? Just stay with me, please,” Jensen pleaded in a heart wrenching voice. He heaves Jared’s limp body more securely in his arms before standing up with him and goes down the stairs when the front door opens with Emma’s voice tinkling merrily into the house.

“Hello! I’m so sorry I’m a little bit late. Got held up for thirty minutes on the highway…” Emma trails off when she sees Jensen runs towards her with Jared hanging limply in his arms. “Oh my God! What happened?!”

“Come with me to the hospital now, Emma!” Jensen growled menacingly making the poor girl was visibly cower. Her fair complexion goes paler as she runs quietly behind her Alpha, opens her car’s door for them before getting behind the wheel to drive them to the Omega Centre downtown.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	3. Three

Emma drives as fast as she can knowing that time is of the essence and the one that determines the life and death of the pack Alpha’s Omega. One thing that she really hates when driving is traffic. Duh, don’t we all? But more than that is panic driving during traffic hour. Emma is a typical Texas girl with laid back attitude and an easygoing personality. Her mother always calls her too lazy and nags at her to find a mate or a husband if desperation calls for it but she has no desire to marry a human. She longs for a strong and dominant Beta to fulfill all of her needs in life.

When she was a little cub she used to dream to mate with a powerful Alpha. She and her Alpha would live happily in a cave, spend the day mating and the night running through the wild forest because that is what it is said on the story book.  Her mother always laughs and calls her silly whenever she tells her that. When Emma asks her mother what an Alpha is and does and if her mother ever met one, her mother tells her to ask her father. Her father only has a vague idea of what an Alpha is. The only thing that he knows is that the Alpha line has died out many, many years ago ever since the wolves integrated into human society right after the War of the Fangs three hundred years ago. Wolves left their heritage in favor of human’s acceptance, to be able to live among them and throughout the years, Alpha has become an abstract concept.

Intermarriage between humans and wolves are common in the last century at least but since Jensen declared himself as Alpha and asserted his dominance among the wolf society six years ago, more and more wolves who plead allegiance to him return to the old way of life of the Wolf Clan. Few are still wary, including Emma’s parents although they too heard The Howl ten years ago. Emma was too young to understand what it means at the time but once he knew about Jensen, she was one of the first Omegas who volunteered at the Omega Centre. She took obstetrics as her main course of study for the sole purpose of helping her fellow Omegas.

Omega Centre is the only hospital facility in the state that caters to Wolves. It was founded by the pack three years ago after the passing of Mackenzie Ackles, the Alpha’s sister, during her first heat. It originally took place within the Ackles compound with the main purpose to teach Omegas of the pack the way of Old. But since Jensen’s compound is located at the outskirts of the town near the woods, six months ago, he decided to move it to the hospital building at the centre of the town for easier access.

The car skids to a halt right in front of the hospital’s front door. Jensen strides in with Jared wrapped tightly in his arms. His presence is immediately commands the entire room. Everyone inside stops whatever they are doing and focus their attention to their Alpha. Gasps and whispers of Jensen’s name are echoing around the room and spreading throughout the building. Emma sees a couple of men grab the gurney for Jared while the receptionist and nurses alert the emergency room and call for doctors.

“Someone get me Amber, now!” shouts Jensen to the room.

Emma does not have any shred of doubt that the Alpha’s demand will be carried out and she is right. Three minutes later a young woman in white scrubs comes running from the second floor stairs toward them while they are wheeling Jared to the emergency room.  

Emma notices that the Omega’s complexion is getting paler every second goes by and the Alpha’s features are getting tense with worry. She has been watching them from the rearview mirror during the drive to the hospital and from the years that she knows him she never saw the Alpha ever show fear. Jensen is never afraid of anything. He stood in front of a full court with incarceration and death sentence hanging over his head with no fear. He accepted challenges from Alpha Jeff and Alpha Steven with no sweat, even stood proudly over them with blood and scars marring his brilliant coat. However, that half hour journey between the Ackles compound and the hospital has shown Emma the other side of her Alpha; the caring and loving side of him. She noticed how Jensen continuously whispered sweet nothings to his mate, pleaded him to stay awake, always asked him about their pup, always touched him and kissed him anywhere he could reach. She noticed, for the first time, a glimpse of fear swimming inside his eyes every time Jared stayed quiet for more than thirty seconds. 

She should have known. She should have understood what Amber has been telling her, what Amber has been teaching the Omega volunteers at the Omega Centre about what is written in the ancient scroll of the old shaman. Alphas are all about balance. While Betas are born warriors, Alphas are born leaders and within leaders there must be balance. Jensen brings order to their society. The society that has been tilting dangerously off its axis and ready to topple down to the ground.

“Talk to me, people!” the young woman in white scrub commands in a firm authoritative voice over Jared’s sweaty head, engaging stats from the nurses and other doctors. Amber Benson, Beta extraordinary, is one of the toughest Female Betas of the Wolf Clan society, head of the Omega Centre and an unofficial member of Jensen’s trusted council. 

“Temperature dropping fast, doctor, we’re losing him…” cried one of the two doctors who ran beside the gurney.

Emma hears a low growl from in front of her, knows that the Alpha is agitated and the bad news will spur him more into a frantic fury that she shouts, “we’re not losing him!”

Amber and the other doctors and nurses look at her startled but she refuses to dip her head and lower her gaze as her Omega instinct dictates her. Instead she looks into each of their eyes and lets them know how scared she feels for Jared and how much confidence she has that Jared will survive. He’s the pack Alpha’s mated Omega. His loss will be a major blow to their barely recovering society not to mention how it will affect Jensen. During the whole scene Jensen never looks up from Jared’s face. His attention fully absorbed by his mate’s suffering.

“No! We won’t be losing him,” says Amber, looking into Emma’s eyes in full determination. “Alright, let’s get to work people!” Amber bangs the double doors of the emergency room open and leads the gurney to the centre of the room where the appliances and machines are turned on and ready to be strapped on Jared. Jensen and Emma have to step back to let the machines get strapped on Jared when Amber orders, “Emma, get Alpha outside!”

A snarl and loud throaty growl shakes everyone in the room. For a second no one dares to move a muscle, to speak or to even breathe. Emma puts her palm over her gaping mouth, struggles to hold her whimper in as he witness with her own eyes how Jensen’s lips are pulled back tight showing his lengthening incisors. The normally neat human teeth are reforming into scarily looking sharp canines. Emerald green irises are blown wide eating out the white sclera that surrounds it. With his legs open in a perfect battle stands, fists curled and half hunch shoulder, Jensen is ready to battle anyone who dares to separate him from his mate.

Emma’s pulse runs faster when the thick scent of the Alpha that cloys the entire room makes her skin prickling and the hair at her nape to rise. She fearfully watches Amber approaches Jensen in swift but careful steps. They cannot afford anymore dalliance since Jared’s life is hanging by the seconds. Amber puts out both her hand to placate the enraged Alpha. “Alright, you can stay but … out of the way…”

Another deep menacing snarl tears out of Jensen’s throat. While she knows that the snarl is directed at Amber and not her, it is still does not fail to make her and everyone in the room jump in fear. The young doctor immediately dips her head and lowers her gaze to the floor to show submission. “Please, Alpha, we need to treat your Omega undisturbed. We’re not trying to separate you.”

In that moment, Emma has another respect towards Amber. She admires how the female Beta stands her ground, never shows fear in front of Jensen, only deep respect and submission for the Alpha. She understands that they are close friends but even she who has known Jared and Jensen for more than three years cannot stop her trembling.

Jensen closes his eyes and in one deep breath pulls back his incisors. The overpowering aura and heady scent of dominating Alpha that was thick in the air seconds ago is diminishing. Amber looks up at Jensen’s returning human’s eyes, takes it as a sign of permission, nods her head and resumes taking charge at the emergency table.

“Back to work, people. We have an Omega to save.” Amber claps her hand twice to snap her staff out of their freeze. They look back and forth between Amber and Jensen gauging the mood of the Alpha. When they realize that Jensen has calmed down as Amber has let him stay in the room, watching with narrowed eyes and grim line of lips, they quickly avert their attention to Jared.

“Emma, I need you to calm the pup down and report to me every minute of its activity. We need the mother and the pup stable.”

“Right away,” shouts the Omega, scurrying over to the bed and proceeding to rub Jared’s belly. Normally it’s the mother, who has a bond with the pup, who can calm it down but since Jared is still out for the count Emma can only depend on her instinct and her obstetrics knowledge in helping pregnant mothers.

The doctors and nurses are busy engaging the various monitoring equipment around the bed to Jared, strapping electrodes on Jared’s skin for the ECG, EFM and pulse Oximeter, inserting a needle into Jared’s blood vessel on his wrist for the IV tubes. Amber flits around the room to get a syringe of medicine to inject it into Jared’s IV line.

“Is the IV ready?” Amber asks her staff, tapping a syringe in her hand.

“Yes,” answers one of the nurses who have been tasked with the job.

“Stats?”

Amber walks around Emma to Jared’s other side where the nurse has injected the IV line while her staffs spew statistics and readings from the various monitor that are connected to Jared. Then she injects the syringe into the IV line while asking, “how’re you doin, Emma?”

“Pup is nervous. Moving around a lot,” reports Emma from her position hunched over Jared’s swollen belly with her hands rubbing the skin in a steady rhythm.

“Ok, once the stabilizer kicks in, wait five minutes for the temperature to rise, if not we’ll need to give him blood mixer. I’m fearing the worst.”

“Should we take blood sample?” asks one of the doctors.

“Yes, please do.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An hour later …

Amber comes out of the Lab in a hurry. The clicking sound of her high heels is echoing along the hallway of the second floor west wing. Her fast stride brings her to the east wing, where the ICU rooms are located, in no time. There is a flurry of activity in one of the ICU rooms. After they stabilized Jared, the doctors moved him to one of the ICU for further treatment. A nurse comes out of the room and Amber stops her.

“Is the Alpha inside?” Amber asks the nurse and when the nurse nods at her she continues, “please tell him that I have the test lab ready.”

“Yes, Doctor.” And the nurse scurries back inside to relate Amber’s news.

After waiting listlessly for about a minute, Jensen comes out of the room and makes a beeline towards her. The woman takes a deep breath seeing her Alpha approaches her. She knows he will not take the news easily.

“Alpha-”

“Cut the crap Amber. Just tell me what’s the result is!” commands Jensen in a low growl.

Amber purses her lips and relates to him what she has found during lab testing. “Positive.”

Jensen closes his eyes and gritted his teeth. Hands curled into fists, he visibly tries to hide his despair, to reign in his wolf, his shwaha from acting out. This is not the time and place to lose control. Despite the brief lapse an hour ago inside the emergency room, Jensen knows that wolfing out is not an answer to this problem, although, right now, what he really wants is to howl to the moon and beg to The Silver Goddess, the savior of shwahaa, to spare his mate.

“That means…”

“I know what that means, Amber!” Jensen snaps. “My family lost two Omegas because of it and I’ve promised to myself that I won’t lose Jared the same way.”

“I don’t understand. Jared’s progress is marvelous,” muttered Amber.

“How come you did not know that this would happen?” Jensen demands, eyes sharp and accusing. “You’ve been checking his condition regularly, taking his blood test every fucking month and you miss this?!” Jensen’s tone of voice keeps rising with a growl faintly flavoring the end.

Amber looks down in submission. She is perhaps Jensen’s best friend and one of his trusted confidants but he is also her Alpha. When the Alpha is angry and demands her obedience she is bound by instinct to submit to him. If Jensen is any madder she would have been kneeling on the ground by now.

“Please, Alpha, let me explain,” she pleads, head down and voice low. She waits until Jensen lets out a growl as a sign for her to continue. “Yes, I did the check up and the blood test every month but the O-fever is not a disease. It’s more like a defect-”

“A defect,” Jensen says at the same time. He is walking back and forth restlessly in front of the ICU door, muscle tensed and shoulder hunched down rigidly like and agitated wolf. “And like I said to Jared before, it’s not a defect that makes our Omegas suffer, it’s ignorance!”

“I know, Alpha,” says Amber looking up to Jensen, “and we’ve been working so hard to fix it. We don’t get human’s diseases but the O-fever works very closely to that of human’s flu virus. When the antibody of an Omega drops down, he or she will be vulnerable to it. The Alpha gene of his chromosomes-”

“The one that is dormant,” Jensen interjects her, hands folded in front of his broad chest facing her. He already knows what Amber is talking about because the Beta has come to him with this very problem six years ago and enlightened him about the complex structure of a wolf’s DNA. How it differs them from human.

Amber puts her hands inside the side pockets of her white scrubs. “Yes. It will start collapsing and with that the balance of the chromosomes will be disturbed. Soon, the organs will follow and in Jared’s case his chromosomes have shown the sign of collapsing.”

“How about the medicine you invented?”

“The Blood Mixer is only a temporary solution, Jensen,” explains Amber, adapting to the more informal atmosphere when she feels her Alpha has calmed down somewhat by addressing Jensen by his name. “It helps the Omegas to keep their chromosomes stable but it’s not a cure. It’ll collapse sooner or later. Omegas’ life expectancy is getting shorter, especially the male ones.”

Jensen rakes his fingers through his dark blond hair and his breath stutters out of his lungs. He keeps both his hands at the back of his head turning away from Amber and facing the wall, closing his eyes in agony over the fate of his mate.

“I’ve warned you when you-”

“I don’t wanna hear it.” Jensen’s voice is calm but its coldness stops Amber from continuing her sentence. “Jared is my mate, Amber. My chosen Omega. How dare you question me?” 

Amber takes a deep breath. Once again she has offended the Alpha. “I’m very sorry, Alpha. I’m speaking out of line. I love Jared like my own brother and I understand. I, of all people, should’ve understood the bond that you two have.” She looks towards the glass door of the ICU room where they are treating Jared.

“I’ll keep working on it to the best of my ability,” Amber solemnly vows turning back to where Jensen stand still with the same posture, hands behind his head gripping his hair tight facing the wall. Amber continues to speak to his back, “I’ll rip down my great great grandmother’s ancient scroll if need be.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	4. Four

  
  
  


_“Many years ago, young man, your ancestor made a treaty with us regarding the preservation of your kind. Now, we’ve been kind enough to give you as much right as us humans and you want to muck that up?” The balding man who sits on the raised platform in front of Jensen is practically foaming at the mouth. It is a funny sight to behold honestly and Jensen would have laughed outright if not for the fact that he finds himself in a very serious situation._

_“Your Honor, I am forced to take this action to preserve my pack. As their Alpha I have been bound by duty to guide them back to the way we were. I am just trying to save our future.”_

_“Who has appointed you as this …Alpha?” The judge waved his hand around like swatting a fly in addressing Jensen’s status._

_Jensen should very well take this as an insult and his shwaha agrees with him if the low growl in his throat is any indication, but Jensen too is aware that dealing with humans is very much different to dealing with wolf pack. Less growling and more logic is the more venerable approach. He may have been blessed by the moon but the humans do not acknowledge such things. Few that do prefer to turn a blind eye rather than acknowledging the existence of magic among their neighborhood because that is what they are, a creature of the night, a creature of magic. Something that is not human but not less than them._

_Modern science may challenges their belief but relying solely on human’s way has been proven moot and will ultimately cost the very existence of their future generation. Even the very bright one such as Amber has been stumped for years before she met Jensen. Something tells Jensen that they are afraid. Humans have not been afraid of them for years since none of them have seen a wolf in true form. The War has scarred them deep and down and it is understandable that everyone just wants to move on with their life, shoving the bad memory on a rack between numerous history books. It was such a dark and bloody mess, the history, and Jensen knows that it is easy to ignore the fact that even when they are not the mindless, lust driven, blood thirsty mangy beast that they fought against many years ago, they are still a beast with claws and strength way above humans._

_“You are creating restlessness among us and you have no respect on what your ancestors have done to better the life of your kind. You’re merely a kid, barely left high school, how can you claim to take responsibility  for the rest of them?” spats the bald judge with a sneer Jensen’s way._

_A kid huh? Well, let’s show him just what this kid is made of._

_In a blink of an eye, Jensen lets loose of the shwaha and just like that he feels a rush of exhilarating sense of freedom and power suffuses into his very being. He feels the core of his very soul, the shwaha, the spirit of the wolf is expanding through his skin like wearing perfectly fit clothes. He jumps, even before shifting completely, onto the desk on the raised platform where the judge sits. The table creaks barely holding his massive weight. An amused snort would have been uttered if only Jensen can do it when he sees the shock horror splashed on the judge’s face. The poor man must have been pissing in his pants by now but Jensen spares him from any embarrassment by chomping on his bald head and yanks forcefully, letting the headless body slumps down on its high-backed chair, bathed in its own blood._

_Jensen turns back towards the audience of the court displaying the newly chomped head to the panicking mass. Gunshots and screams fill the room and Jensen’s head gives him this immense headache that forces him to drop the head to the floor and gasp in pain._

 

 

Jensen wakes up on the narrow cot on the waiting room outside Jared’s ICU room with a gasp and a dull pain that is throbbing behind his eyelids. It does not happen often but Jensen hates it when they do. Sometimes, the vision just flows into him like a dream and sometimes, when Jensen’s psyche is not of its best, it drills into his head like a manic dentist with a drilling rig. It is not a vision this time, though. Jensen knows because it was not what really happened back then at the court. There was no violence whatsoever and definitely no head being chomped off no matter how irritating the judge was. Still, the blending of the vision and his memory is disconcerting.

He never really understands how this magic of the Alpha Rod works. It just slammed him with visions after visions of the memories of the previous Alphas in the old days during the following weeks after he touched it. It was another struggle to gain ownership of the Rod since Jensen’s pack has not been acknowledged back then but luckily the owner of the museum is a wolf sympathizer and he built the museum solely for his female Beta wife. It also does not hurt that the major funders of it are mostly wolves.  

Jensen rolls off the cot onto the linoleum floor in a crouch. He spies a bin at the corner and calculates the time it takes for him to reach it if the throbbing headache escalates into nausea. He stays in a crouching position for five more minutes until the pain subdued and three minutes more until it diminishes completely although the memory of it lingers at the back of his mind giving him a reluctant shudder. It is not the gore and violence that troubles him, the Goddess knows Jensen has seen enough of it in his visions to get used to it but the fact that the vision manages to blend with his actual real memory that gives him the creeps. What is that mean? Is it merely due to his mental exhaustion regarding Jared’s critical condition that somehow blends his fear and panic of losing his mate into one gruesome nightmare? Yes, a nightmare is what it is. Jensen hopes that he is spared from the real nightmare of, the moon forbid, if Jared cannot make it through.

Jensen has spent three days in the hospital and barely left Jared’s bedside during that time, only sleeping when his body demands him to which happened only twice and for two hours each. Emma has arranged a small cot for Jensen in the waiting room and Amber has gone somewhere, possibly the lab, and has not been seen ever since.

Jensen heaved himself up from the cold floor and sat heavily on the cot just as the glass door to the ICU opens to reveal a blonde nurse with a clipboard on her hand. She must have been checking on Jared’s health status which makes it somewhere around seven in the morning. Jensen has slept for two hours. The nurse spares Jensen no mind and walks past him to the outer door of the waiting room. She is a human, Jensen’s nose tells him. He knows this hospital employs wolves as well as humans before Jensen converted it into an Omega Center.

Jensen stands up, stretching his sore limbs before making a beeline to the small washroom at the corner to rid himself from the remnants of sleep and fatigue. He washes his face as best as he can without bothering to shave and trying to make his appearance as presentable as he can manage. Not that anyone would begrudge him if he appears all rumpled and fucked up. Jensen expels a hopeless sigh to the miserable sight on the mirror and leaves the small space to go and see Jared. His Omega was conscious three hours after the doctors gave him Blood Mixer to stabilize his chromosomes but he is still very weak. He has been in and out of consciousness ever since the serum was injected.

Jensen opens the glass door carefully and slips inside. He is halfway from closing the door when he sees that Jared is awake. Jensen rushes to Jared’s bedside in a couple of long strides and clasps his Omega’s right hand in his while his left combs his chestnut hair.

“Hey babe, how you doin? How long have you been awake? Why didn’t the nurse tell me? I would’ve been come inside sooner.”

Jared smiles weakly at him. “You look like shite, Alpha,” whispers Jared reproachfully in which Jensen replies, “Yeah, well, don’t have you to whack me behind my head to remind me to appear more dignified and less wild savage Alpha wolf.”

“You haven’t been a wild and savage wolf as long as I’ve known you,” Jared begs to differ.

“Are you sure about that?” Jensen leers teasingly with a naughty lilt in his voice.

“Oh, you and your libido.” Jared grins at him with adoring look on his eyes, twin dimples make their long awaited appearance that makes Jensen’s heart stutter with joy.

“What can I say? You’re quite a delectable morsel. I could never help myself around you,” Jensen whispers sweetly. He leans over and rubs their nose together like a pair of wolves in the beginning of their mating ritual. Both of them breathe a longing sigh, foreheads touching and lips a hairbreadth apart breathing the same air.

Jared closes his eyes for a long minutes making Jensen thinks he has gone back to sleep before another whisper breathes out of his pale lips. “I’ve been dreaming.”

“Yeah?” Jensen responds with a smirk distancing their face so that he can roam his eyes on Jared’s feature. “Am I in it?”

“Always,” answers Jared softly. Then he lifts up his and Jensen’s right hand, depositing them on top of his belly and says, “I’ve seen our son. He is magnificent, Jensen. Looks just like you.”

“Well, I believe he couldn’t afford to be anything less than superlative when he has you as his daddy,” Jensen quips with pride colors his voice.

“He wants to see you,” Jared tells Jensen making his Alpha raises his eyebrows and looks at him funny.

“What? In your dream?”

“Now,” corrects Jared with a fond smile, “and back at the house. He was desperate to see you he almost screamed it at me.”

“Ah, not only lazy but stubborn too,” Jensen jibes with a smirk that grows into a cheeky grin when he sees Jared pout. How can he resist not biting those lips?

“So, what else does he wants?” asks Jensen after a minute-long biting session occurs.

“I think he is calmer when you’re around, especially when you shift. I’ve been feeling it ever since the last Howling,” reveals Jared, cementing the old belief of the Wolf Clan.

“Well, I guess it’s a given,” says Jensen with a sigh. “You know that we’ve been doing it wrong the past century.” He looks at both his and Jared’s hand, caressing their son from outside his womb. Jensen really could not wait to hold his tiny pup in his hand, preferably with Jared smiling happily by his side. He refuses any reality that was devoid of Jared.

“I just want to shift with him,” whispers Jared sleepily, murmuring about shifting wolves under his breath. Jensen kisses his forehead, watching his Omega blinks lazily.

“Shhhh… rest now. I’ll be here. Not leaving you, never leaving you.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jared does not wake up again for the rest of the day but it does not mean that Jensen is not busy. Members of his council have been visiting Jared in turn as if someone has been coordinating it. Jensen thinks it is Misha. His dad and Josh have come over the day after Jared was hospitalized. They have both been out of state, his dad for a seminar in California and Josh for a hearing next state over. Both have stayed for the day before Jensen has shoved them off to rest at home but not before they promised to return the next day. Jared’s brothers and sisters have been in and out of the hospital since day one. They somehow manage to work out a rolling order that has at least a family member visit the hospital to keep in touch with Jared’s condition, although none of them stay the night.  

The flow of visitors and well wishers starts to dwindle after the sun goes down, so tonight finds Jensen at Jared’s bedside with right palm atop his belly and the back of his left middle finger softly stroking his mate’s cheek. Jared’s blood tests the last three days show odd results that vary between mixing and lapsing that worry the doctors. So, they whip out their newest gadget, a monitoring machine that allows doctors to monitor the fluctuating wave on his chromosomes development readings.

Usually, after the Blood Mixer is injected into the marrow, the reaction of the patient’s blood cells is either successfully mixing with the serum thus creating a stronger and more stable chromosomes or lapsing. The success rate of this serum since its initial application three years ago is sp astounding that wolf society around the world starts to give Jensen’s pack attention, even though it is barely a cure. According to Amber’s research the serum will last for three to four years with repeated applications before the unstable chromosomes become too weak to accept the serum and the collapsing will be restarting again.

A lapsing will happen when an Omega’s blood is no longer mixing and refusing the Blood Mixer due to the weakening state of the dormant genes. The collapsing of chromosomes then becomes inevitable which is followed by the failure or organs in a couple of months, until they die. In rare cases the lapsing happens at first injection. When this happens, there is nothing to be done other than grieving.

The door to the ICU room opens to admit Emma, who walks in with a bowl of warm water and a washcloth. She puts the bowl on the stand at the corner of the room before rolling it near Jared’s foot of the bed.

“It’s bath time,” says Emma. Her voice is soft among the beeping of the various monitoring machines in the room.

Jensen tears his eyes away from Jared’s face and addressing the young Obs with a curious look, “isn’t it the nurse’s job?”

“Yes but I’m also a volunteer here, Jensen. I often help pregnant Omegas get through the birthing process like this. They are most comfortable with fellow Omegas helping them, you know.” Emma soaks the washcloth into the warm water then squeezes the excess water out of it before washing Jared’s calves with the washcloth. “Besides, I wanna see Jared and look after him as best as I could because I’m still his Obs and responsible for his and the pup’s health.”

Jensen reaches for Emma’s hand that is busy rubbing Jared’s right calf with with utmost care, covering her smaller hand with his larger one, halting her movement. “Emma, look. I’m sorry for growling at you and basically being an Alpha jerk at the house.”

“No, no, Jensen please don’t apologize. It’s my duty as Jared’s assigned Obs to put his health and the pup first. I should’ve done that-” Emma put his other hand on top of Jensen’s hand atop Jared’s calf.

“You are, Emma.”

“But I neglected him when-”

“Emma, stop!” Jensen commands in a firm but still low tone of voice for fear of disturbing Jared’s rest. His hands is holding Emma’s hand in a strong grip, eyes are looking intently into the Omega making his point across. “I don’t blame you for Jared’s illness. It’s inevitable and if I appear to be mad at you, at the house, then I’m sorry. So, you stop feeling guilty because it’s not productive and a waste of energy. I need you to help Jared and our pup to get through this, preferably alive and healthy. So, you’d better focus on that.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Emma looks down at their hands when she feels Jensen’s hand give hers another squeeze before pulling away.

They work together undressing Jared’s unconscious body and washing his pale skin. After she finishes tying Jared’s hospital gown, Emma gathers up the bowl and washcloth and leaves Jensen alone with Jared. She just closes the door when a voice from behind startles her.

“Hey, Emma. Is Jensen inside?”

Emma whirls around almost dropping the bowl and soaking herself in the process. When she sees the man behind her she schools her face in annoyance and grouses, “Chad, stop doing that!”

Chad just raises his eyebrows at her undeterred. He looks through the black tinted glass door of the ICU hoping to see his best friend while Emma glares at him. “Jared’s been hospitalized for two days, where were you?”

“Hey, I’m trying to get here as best as I can, you know. It’s not my fault my aunt lives in the middle of nowhere,” retorts Chad in a huff.

Emma smacks his chest rather painfully chastising him of his raised voice. “Lower your voice, for God’s sake! It’s a hospital not a bar.” Chad replies to that with a roll of his eyes.

“So, how’s he doin’?” asks Chad instead.

Emma’s feature turns sour and gloomy. She looks at the glass door with sad eyes regaling Chad with everything that happened in the last two days: the sad, the bad and the scary part of it.

“Jensen was wolfing out?” Chad whistles low. His usual slack countenance morphs into excitement.

“Yes and … God, I felt …” Emma trails off looking for the right word to describe what she felt two days ago in the ER. She puts her right palm at the base of her neck. The bowl of dirty water is clutched tightly under her left armpit. She looks at Chad’s impatient eyes when saying, “… heated.”

Chad raised one eyebrow in amusement. He leers at Emma drawling, “riiiight…” while Emma glares at him, pink blushes creeping her cheeks. “Shut it, you!”

“All you Omegas always get your panty in a twist for an Alpha,” quips Chad offhandedly.

“What do you know about Omega when you’re not even a wolf,” accuses Emma indignantly.

“Hey, I’m not Jensen’s childhood friend for nothing, you know. He was a dork when he was kid, I’m telling you. Not that he isn’t now but he was always going on and on about Wolf Clan that; I think I know better about your history that you. He always wanted to do something to improve the society. My poor boy, I personally think he lives for the Clan.” Chad ends his sentence with a glance towards the glass door.

“He does,” Emma agrees, looking wistfully at the door.

Chad snorts loudly, shaking his head in amusement at Emma’s blatant display of worship. “Well, enough chit-chat, I am going to see Amber.”

“Don’t you wanna go in and see Jared?”

“I care about Jared and I really wanna know about his condition. What is a better way to find that out other than from his doctor?” explains Chad. “Besides, I’m sure Jenny is there inside with his mate and I don’t want to disturb their chick-flick moment.”

“You don’t even know that they are having a chick-flick moment, right now. Jared is asleep,” informs Emma.  

“With the two of them? Believe me, I’d like to keep my teeth intact and my sugar level normal,” says Chad, walking backward towards the end of the hall. He turns up the collar of his jacket and puts on a naughty smirk. “It’s time to see Dr. Sexy, MD,” Chad leers with a wink before turning around strutting confidently towards the west wing where the research and laboratory department located.

“That dog!” Emma gapes at him in disbelief with a hand planted firmly on her waist.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Two days later …

Amber walks back and forth between the two microscopes on the long table inside the lab. She peered into the left one while her left hand adjusted the lenses and her right hand scribbling notes on her notepad. Then she reaches for the row of pallets with blood sample in the middle of the table before putting one of them under the lenses of the right microscope. She fiddles with it for a minute before standing back to think.

“Huh.” An inquisitive huff sneaks out of her lips accompanied by a curious frown on her forehead. She snatches her notepad on her way to the computer at the corner of the lab intent to record everything that she found mere seconds ago into the simulation software that Chad created for her.

The door to the lab opens abruptly, revealing a haggard Jensen who strides in purposely towards Amber, intent on finding out about the latest development on his mate’s condition.

“You sent for me, Amber. I assume you have news on Jared?”

“Yes, please sit down, Jensen. I’ll be just a minute.” The female Beta fiddles with her software for a bit before standing up, collecting her printed documents and brings them all in front of Jensen. They both sit facing each other on the long table in the middle of the room beside the two microscopes. She spreads her documents in front of Jensen.

“Remember when I asked you to proofread my translation?” asks Amber.

Jensen reaches for the documents and recognizes it as copies from the old shaman’s ancient manuscript. “These are copies of your ancestor’s old scroll. I’ve read these and most of your translation is correct.”

“There are not many wolves speak wolf tongue anymore-”

“Louptongue,” Jensen corrects her.

“Yes, and few that do are either in hiding or not very good at it.”

“Well, they don’t have the knowledge shoved into their head in 3D color experience,” comments Jensen, deadpan.

“I have to go a long way to Canada just to get some of the phrases done and more trips to Scotland and-”

“Amber! What’s your point?!” Jensen snaps.

The Beta takes a deep breath before speaking, “my point is, Jensen, even after all that I’ve done I still got them wrong.”

“What? But I’ve read your translation. It’s all correct. What do you…”

Amber snatches a paper from the stack and showing it to Jensen, shoving it under his nose more like. Jensen grabs at it, sending an irritated glance at her before looking at the paper.

“Is this from the part that’s smudged before? Did Chad bring you these? He told me he went to see you the other day.”

“No, I got this from a friend. He ran it through some rendering tools to get the smudges clear, it’s a new invention apparently, and this is what I get,” Amber tells him. “Chad only came to harass me, just so you know,” she adds in afterthought.

Jensen smirk teasingly, eyes still glued to the paper. Amber sees the smirk and bristles in exasperation. “If you want to tease-”

“Rokhhwa,” cuts Jensen abruptly, throwing the paper onto the table between them, cutting Amber mid tirade.

Amber gapes at him for a couple of seconds before snatching the paper to scrutinize the symbols. “How can you say that?” Amber protests, shaking her head adamantly. “I have the whole phrase before it rendered, proofread by you too.”

“That’s before I knew about that last symbol,” counters Jensen.

“The last symbol means blood.”

“No. it actually doesn’t have meaning.” Jensen leans closer to the table pointing at the symbols on the paper in Amber’s hand. “You see, in Louptongue there are several symbols that don’t have any meaning at all but when they are combined with other symbols in certain arrangements they can shift the meaning of the whole phrase. Like us, they are shifting symbols.”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me. I know a rokhhwa when I see one.”

Amber rubs her forehead with her fingers. “My head hurts,” she moans. “I’ll never get this language.”

Jensen chuckles, “I don’t know how to explain it either. It’s just that when we shift in our wolf form we’re not talking any language with our tongue but send images and senses to our peers. The barking you hear is translated into symbols that are called Louptongue. In short, you won’t be able to understand it if you don’t shift.”

“Another martyr of our ignorance,” mutters Amber warily. “So, if this is rokhhwa that means it refers to the connection between mother and pup. Jared already develops that with your son, right?” asks Amber while glancing at Jensen. When Jensen confirms with a nod she stands up and waves Jensen over gesturing to the two microscopes on the table.

Jensen stands up and walks around the table to peer into the microscopes. “What am I looking at?”

“Jared’s blood sample. Both taken after the administration of Blood Mixer.”

“Then why do they both behave differently?” Jensen wonders after switching from one microscope to the other and finding different results.

“Exactly!” exclaims Amber snapping her thumb and forefinger together in front of her face. She leans her hip to the side of the table facing Jensen who does the same thing opposite her. She begins to explain using her hand gesture wildly. “They are not supposed to behave like that. The result from the blood mixer is either mixing or lapsing. I’ve got results from the whole country and they are all the same. I’ve been beating myself stupid the past few days wondering if somehow I gave Jared the wrong batch or that there’s something wrong with my serum but it turns out that my serum is not the one that is faulty. It’s Jared.”

“What do you mean?” Jensen’s countenance goes tense. He pulls himself straighter, folds his hands in front of his chest and bores at Amber’s eyes demanding explanation.

“Jared’s blood doesn’t accept my serum. He is one of the few Omegas who refuse to mix with Blood Mixer due to the severe condition of their chromosomes. I told you before that male Omegas suffer the defect more ruthlessly than their female counterpart. Granted, the presentation of male Omega birth is way lower than the others, so, their loss, although regrettable, brings minimal impact to our society.”

Jensen frowns testily at that but Amber lifts her hand to placate him. “Bear with me, Jensen. I’m just stating fact,” says Amber not wanting to have Jensen’s anger at her again. Then she goes to her computer beckoning Jensen to her. “I’ve been inputting this anomaly into my software and crossing the results from the EFM and the chromosomes monitoring.” She hits a few keys to restart the software and showing it to Jensen. “And here’s what I found.”

Jensen’s attention is soon absorbed by the software. It is similar to the chromosomes monitoring machine in Jared’s room but it is more complex with the addition readings from the EFM that monitors the pup. The waves are synergic to one another.

“Your son is the key, Jensen.”

 


	5. Five

“Your son is the key, Jensen.”

Jensen tears his eyes from the screen and turns around to look at Amber’s brown ones. Questions are fired down rapidly at the same time from his brain that he is struggling to choose which one to ask first. Amber spares him by pointing at the forgotten copies of the ancient manuscript while explaining, “I’ve been running around in circles before you pointed out to me about that translation. It gives the whole phrase on that page a new meaning.”

“Rokhhwa means the connection between shwahaa,” says Jensen slowly while Amber walks to the table and lifts the paper in her hand.

“The phrase in this page is depicting the gestation periods of Omega’s pregnancy, which means the rokhhwa refers to the connection between mother and pup from inside the womb.”

Then, Jensen’s eyes grow wider comically when he realizes something. “That’s why they put rokhhwa in it. If they are talking about any other connection they won’t use the symbols of rokhhwa.” As an old habit, Jensen puts his right elbow on his left hand in front of his chest and starts to chew his right thumbnail while looking off to the wall opposite him, thinking and connecting dots in his head.

“During the first period of gestation, the mother gives blood and nutrition to the pup. It’s a one way road but after they enter the second period of gestation, borrowing my great great grandmother’s words, when the shwaha enters the womb, so to speak, and opens a connection between mother and pup, it becomes a two way road.”

“Symbiosis mutualism,” states Jensen reverently.

“All the way to the core,” adds Amber with a grin that looks too giddy for an adult. “There has never been an Alpha pregnancy for the last century. Yours is the first.”

“What are you saying? Do you think Morgan and Williams born from a rock?” Jensen scoffs.

“But I bet their mothers never went to an Omega Obs to get their pregnancy checked up. There wasn’t any Omega Centre at the time and there certainly wasn’t any Blood Mixer. They didn’t even know what hit them when their mother Omega started to collapse before their eyes. Hell, you didn’t even know it when your mother died before.”   

“Alright, alright I get it.”

“Our society thought, still thinks, that Omega’s pregnancy is just the same as human’s while humans don’t really care for our tradition. Hence, our frustrations during the initial times of your reign-”

Jensen groans painfully, “uggghhhh … don’t remind me of that. Sometimes, I still have nightmares from that time.” He rubs his face warily facing up to the white ceiling of the lab, shoulder slumped down. When he peeks from between his fingers and sees Amber lifts one eyebrow at him looking half amused half curious, he deadpans, “don’t ask.”

Amber chuckles and draws a deep breath before saying, “suffice it to say, we’ve been fucked up beyond all repair for more than a century.”

“Shit! I hate it when you start using military acronyms,” grumbles Jensen much to the amusement of his best friend. “So, what else is there?” gestures Jensen to the page in Amber’s hand.

“Umm… the last phrase is about … it’s a negation statement,” Amber changes the paper to her right hand while rummaging among the printed copies clutters the table with her left hand until she found a page. “Prohibition of shifting during the first period of gestation … and in this page,” Amber lifts up the paper in her right hand, “the statement is negated.”

“Why isn’t it allowed again?”

“Basically without shwaha you won’t be able to shift. Pregnant Omegas aren’t allowed to shift during the first four months because the pup won’t be able to keep up with the change but entering the fifth month, after the Howling ceremony, they can but _only_ when the pup shifts first.” Amber starts to gather the papers on the table into one single pile in a correct order while continuing her brief lecture on Omega pregnancy. “I haven’t really put a lot of mind about it because there wouldn’t be any Omega shifting anytime soon.”

“Jared,” Jensen chimes in seemingly out of nowhere.

Amber looks quizzically at him, hands stilled. “Jared doesn’t shift. It’s the very reason why his chromosomes are out of balance.”

Jensen shakes his head. “Jared told me a couple of days ago that our pup is restless and he only seems to calm down when I’m close and shifting. He also dreamt of our pup in wolf form.”

Amber looks like she is lost for words, gaping at Jensen with a wondrous expression on her face. Papers lay forgotten on the table. “He’s turning,” Amber breaths out slowly, astonished. “Or rather he is trying to but Jared’s condition … How can I forget?” mutters the young doctor under her breath while she flits about the room rapidly in her apparent excitement, shoving Jensen out of her way here and there, fiddling with the microscope, the computer, and the printed copies before stopping in front of the bewildered Alpha with a calm determination dominates her feature.

“Prepare to shift. I need to take your blood sample while in wolf form,” says the female Beta rather forcefully. Then she catches herself and fidgets awkwardly adding, “please, Alpha,” in a softer tone.

Jensen’s only response is the rolling of his eyes before going to the corner of the room beside the huge filing cabinet to take off his clothes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is an observation room near the lab where they usually keep the most critical patients under observation **,** but Amber decided to use it as a temporary operation room and moved Jared there. After letting Amber took his blood sample, Jensen let her stew in her work for three days before she announces that the newest batch of the Blood Mixer serum is ready. Granted it is the first time the serum is being tested but Amber assures Jensen that she has modified the serum especially for Jared and run it under simulation and sample testing several times.

Now, Jensen sits on a chair beside Jared’s bedside with right hand rubbing Jared’s pregnant belly and left hand looped above Jared’s head, stroking his soft hair. He has been trying to convince Jared to take the anesthetic offered by the doctors but he stubbornly refuses. Jensen is not really surprised, honestly, he kind of expects it of Jared. It is an important operation to test Amber’s new serum with Jared as its sole subject of experiment. If this so called beta testing works successfully, Jensen damn well hopes it will, then there will be a new hope for the Omegas.

“Are you both ready?” asks one of the doctors who flits about the room checking and rechecking various equipments.

Jensen looks at him and gives a nod then he turns back his attention to his mate. “You sure you want to be awake for this?”

“It’s my son’s first turning. I won’t miss it for the world.” Jared’s smile is radiant and the giddy anticipation reflected in his eyes making his whole feature glow happily. He positively looks healthier than the past few days and as per rule, what makes Jared happy makes Jensen happy. It is just as simple as that.

Amber approaches Jared on his left side to give him encouraging words and assurance and tells him to relax. “Listen to what your body tells you and more importantly listen to your pup.”

“I know, Amber,” says Jared smiling.

Then, Amber looks at Jensen and says, “Jensen, anytime you’re ready.” She retreats a few steps back, watching the monitoring machines closely.

Jensen loops his left hand under Jared’s neck, mashes their forehead together and lets it loose. This is why Amber does not allow any Omegas or humans present inside the observation room during this operation because when Jensen let loose of his power, it tends to get overwhelming even for fellow wolves. You see, all of those nasty rumours and hogwash bullshit on wolf lore? While mostly are based on human’s overactive fear and misconception, few are true. Er, not the devil creature from hell part, that’s human’s belief not really apply on wolf, but the silencing part. None of the human believes it anymore and the wolf society has been relegates it to the fairy tale section of their cub’s education. That when a wolf sees a man first, he will becomes temporarily mute. Such as the lore were twisted by prejudice and hatred. Humans never get the fact right, even more so when they are talking about werewolf.

Jensen rendered his neighbours around the block mute for a whole night when he first howled. That happened back then when Jensen had not been able to control his power and scent. Now, scent is rolling off him in controlled soft waves. It fills the air around the room in rich whorls of Alpha scent a few seconds before power pursues, clamouring against the wall in tight rings. They are as thick as they are loud but still within Jensen’s conscious control. It is as close as Jensen can to get through to his son without shifting.

Ever since the last Howling, Jared always tells him that their pup can sense him when he is nearby and moreover when he shifts. It seems that the little pup has been wanting to shift for a while and unable to do it due to Jared’s unbalanced state of chromosome. The two way line of basic communication, rokhhwa, enables Jared and his pup to share everything including blood cells. Amber suspects that the pup is distressing over the fact that Jared’s DNA compound is defected and scared and panicking when the O-fever hits. The Blood Mixer serum gives the pup’s active Alpha genes a much needed boost in keeping the Jared’s chromosome stable by replacing the collapsed Omega genes with his own, but he can only do so much for he is just a little pup. Ergo, the fluctuating wave of Jared’s chromosome development. So, basically, Jared is being saved by his son.

Jared’s right hand grapples at Jensen’s neck and finds purchase of his hair. His breathing is laboured, eyes dilated and his face is flushed. He moans low on his throat hiding his face under Jensen’s chin, rubbing his nose lustfully on his mate’s neck and also behind the ear, getting himself drunk on his mate’s scent. As what is bound to happen whenever Jensen lets loose of his power during their mating, which does not happen often, Jared’s mind is rapidly becoming an incoherent mess of firing synapses that sends message to Jared’s instinct to take over in order to mate. He is slowly pulling up his legs and arching his back off the bed. But Jensen cannot let that happen now. He wants Jared sober and coherent so he pulls back a portion of his power and focuses the rest of them to his right hand that lays atop Jared’s belly. He hopes that it is enough to reach his son. He knows that Jared is the one who has the exclusive two way connection with their pup but he is been told that his pup has been able to sense him from the womb, so, he is hoping that the little fellow can also sense his power.

“Jay, tell him to shift,” whispers Jensen on Jared’s left ear tenderly. “Come on baby, tell our son that he can shift now. I’ll be here with him along the way. Tell him that daddy is going to shift and I want him to shift with me.”

“Jen …. Jen ….” Jared is chanting Jensen’s name as he is struggle to focus.

“You can do it, baby. You are strong, Jared. You can and will be able to support him while he shifts. I’m here. I’m here, baby. Never leaving you.”

Jensen keeps encouraging Jared while the doctors are busy in the background. 

“It’s starting,” informs one of the attending doctors. His eyes watching the monitoring screen rapid attention.

“But it’s weak and struggling…. Like it’s afraid or something,” adds the other doctor looking up to Amber for confirmation, “should it behave like that?”

Amber bites her bottom lips in contemplation. “This is his first shifting and he is currently living in a frail environment. Let’s wait and see, shall we?”

Amber knows that none of these doctors have ever witnessing a shifting process before because even though it is customary for Jensen to be present at every Howling, he always never shifts in front others, except Jared. Amber is lucky to have seen him shifts a couple of times; all of them happens in the name of science.

Trembling and sweating, Jared’s left hand creeps up to his belly, rubbing his side in a slow and stunted movement. He is still panting hard but coherent. “Jen … Jen … he wants to … wants …” mumbles Jared under his breath.

“Ok, that’s good, Jay. We have to encourage him to shift on his own. You can do it, baby.”

Amber’s eyes never leave the monitor for it is a sight to behold. The dual monitors above Jared’s head are depicting the progress of Jared’s DNA activity as well as his pup’s. The pup’s monitor shows a high activity of DNA. Amber expectantly holds her breath as she witnesses the first shifting through medical eyes. The Alpha genes of the pup start reshaping. Hesitantly at first, like it is scared and needs coaxing but gaining speed once they grow twice the size of its normal shapes. They are breaking off compounds, then reattaching again, swallowing the Beta and Omega genes, forming a new shape of chromosome, yet, with the same DNA structure. It only happens in eighty seconds and before she knows it, Amber beholds, in front of her, a complete DNA transformation of a fully shifted pup inside the womb.

Amber theorizes that when a wolf shifts into their wolf form, their Alpha genes become ten times more active when they morph. If the pup shifts, his active Omega compounds will become stronger and hopefully will be able to help stabilizing Jared’s chromosomes but the shifting process itself is taking a lot of energy from Jared as well. She would not advise it to any Omega who is suffering from O-fever under normal circumstances. Not that any of them are capable of shifting considering recent condition of wolves chromosomes. Yet, once she found out about Jared’s predicament, she realized it was time to neglect the modern way of thinking and goes back to the old way, the way of the shamans. Amber only hopes that she is making the right decision for they cannot afford any failure in this.

“Doctor, I think the process is complete. The readings are stable,” reports one of the doctors in the room, snapping Amber from her thought. She would need to replay the process again at another time for further research but now she has a job to do.

“Prepare to administer Blood Mixer 2.0 Jared version. How’s the patient?”

“Chromosomes are stable but not stronger.”

“We’re not out of the woods, yet. Let’s wait for the first wave. When it starts to fluctuate again, we’ll inject the serum.”

Jared and Jensen ignore the doctors around them. The world as if dissolves into just the two of them and their pup. Scent and power are tucked neatly coiling inside Jensen’s core, always ready to be called for assistance anytime it is needed. Jensen surveys the sweaty mess in front of him that is Jared and he finds him as luscious as ever. In fact, he prefers Jared looking like this twenty four seven if he has his way, with his cheeks flushed pink, hair plastered on his skin wet from sweat, panting hard and eyes hooded in a haze of desire looking at him full of love. Oh, yeah. Jensen’s body definitely agrees especially his cock that is already half hard. Damn! Jensen’s mate is so gorgeous. If only they are alone and not in such a critical situation, which brings Jensen to the matter at hand.

“You did it little pup,” praises Jensen full of pride, hand caressing lovingly on top of Jared’s belly.

“He really did?” asks Jared in a whisper of wonder.

“He really did,” answers Jensen with a gleeful nod. “How do you feel?”

Jared bestows his mate a tremendous smile that lifts up his entire face. “He is happy … hehehe… and giddy…”

“Yeah, I can feel it. Looks like playing baseball inside, having the time of his life.” Jensen’s watches the pup nudges his hand repeatedly as if playing tag with his daddy’s hand around the womb and Jensen has a hard time keeping up with his overactive pup.

“He won’t stop moving,” says Jared with a happy smile. “I don’t think he wants to shift back. He’s enjoying it too much being a wolf.”

“He is, isn’t he? I have no doubt that he’s gonna be one fine Alpha wolf,” Jensen says grinning overjoyed. “I love you so much, both of you.”

Jared beams adorably and lifts up his hand to caress Jensen’s cheek. “We love you too, my Alpha.”

Jensen covers Jared’s hand with his own, turns his head to kiss its palm. That is when he notices Jared’s feature shows the first sign of distress. Jensen, who attunes to Jared’s body language, immediately becomes concern.

“Jared? Baby, what’s wrong?” Jensen touches his palm on Jared’s cheek feeling his temperature getting lower.

“Jen… why’s the room spinning?” are Jared’s last words before his eyes close and the machines around them start beeping very loudly at the same time.

“It’s starting!” yells one of the doctors.

“Administer the Blood Mixer 2.0, now!” orders Amber loudly over the noisy racket emanating from the machines.

“Injecting Blood Mixer 2.0, Jared Version.”

In a split second, the situation inside the operation room flips from blissful calm to panic and chaos. Doctors are shouting, the machines are screaming and Jensen? Jensen is whispering, pleading for his mate to stay with him to stay strong for their son.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Two weeks later…

Chad jumps over the last step of the stair in the Ackles residence then heads over determinedly to Jensen’s office. He meets Amber there who is in the middle of putting down few files on top of Jensen’s work desk.

Chad knocks on the door frame to get the Beta’s attention. “Hey, the Howling is in an hour. Everyone’s ready.”

“Can you get Jensen to come down?” asks Amber, looking at him solemnly.

“Uhh… no.” Chad looks down and rubs the back of his neck with his left hand.

Amber looks down at the table and sighs. “Jensen’s never missed a Howling before. The pack will be stirred.”

“That’s why we have you, I guess. You can explain it to them.”

“It’s all over the news. I don’t need to give any explanation.” Amber walks to the twin chair in front of Jensen’s desk where she put her bag. She slings her burgundy bag over her shoulder before walking to the door and stopping in front of Chad.

“Come on, Amber. I am very sorry it failed.” Chad leans on the door frame watching Amber hesitating in front of the desk. “No one blames you, you know. Everyone knows the serum will fail sooner or later. It only means that you have to work harder, that we have to work harder. I’ll put all in my power to help the cause since I’m practically an honorary member of this pack.”

“It’s not that simple. I failed the pack and I failed Jensen. I feel so horrible right now,” Amber whines, shoulders dropping down.

Chad shakes his head in disapproval. “This isn’t like you. The Amber I know is fearless and strong.”

“I don’t feel fearless right now.”

Amber walks out of the office, Chad trudging along the way. The man hurries after her and loops his arm around the Beta’s shoulder. They both are walking together along the hallway to the front door.

“You know, a night of Howling will lift up your spirit again. The magic and power in the air will refresh your soul, er, shwaha, and you’ll feel like you’ve been born again.”

“You’ve never been to any Howling.”

“Yes, but I can read. Also, Jared always entertains me with stories whenever I ask him to. So, come on, babe! Where’s the spirit?” Chad shakes Amber’s shoulder hard.

“You know I allow you to put your arm around me because I’m just too lazy to kick your ass for it, right?”

“Amber, what are you talking about?” Chad smirks confidently at her. “You know that I’m irresistible.”

Amber plants her feet at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor of the house. “Go bother Misha now before I lose my patience and kick your ass for real.”

Chad lifts up his arm with a deep miserable sigh then turns around facing Amber and acting smug. “Always playing hard to get. This game is kinda old, you know that?”

“Go!”

“Alright, alright. No need to bare your fangs on me. Not that you got any.” Chad retreats carefully when he sees Amber in full on bitchy mode.  He clears off the door in no time with Amber’s smiles threaten to bloom. She must admit that Chad has his own way of lifting people’s spirit whenever they are down. After all, he has not been Jensen’s childhood friend for nothing. Amber heaves a deep sigh and step confidently up the stairs to the master bedroom while contemplating recent happenings.  

The failure of the first version of the serum, although expected, hit her rather hard. Amber knows she should have been proud that she has been able to give the suffering Omegas three more extended years. She is just hoping that her serum will last for much longer. She knows that her pack will not hold it against her, especially not Jensen. They understand and appreciate her effort in finding a temporary cure.

The original serum of Blood Mixer is derived from the active genes of the three remaining Alphas of Texas. The process is long and arduous that often drives Amber into giving up since the violent and wild characteristic of the Alpha genes refuses to be tempered down. But finally she did it and proudly presented the Blood Mixer. Making the second version of the serum is much easier, moreover, if the intended recipient is one that already has an active Alpha genes coursing inside of him. So, when Amber used Jensen’s transformed blood cells to recreate the Blood Mixer 2.0, she was counting on the rokhhwa between Jared and his pup to get the serum to work. She still needed to dilute those raw blood cells ten times in order to temper the wild and violent characteristic of the Alpha cells without making it dormant.

Jared’s pup is more receptive of the new serum because its characteristic is more or less similar to his own. During normal circumstances, it is not allowed to combine two different Alpha cells because Alphas are genetically possessive and territorial even on the gene level. An Alpha wolf does not accept blood donors from another Alpha wolf. But after Amber converts Jensen’s blood cells into a serum, it is possible for the pup’s blood cells to assimilate with it and, in turn, it will help Jared’s collapsing chromosomes to gain stability. Amber is still working towards making it permanent.  

The Female Beta stops in front of the door to the master bedroom and knocks three times. When nobody answers, she pushes the handle and peeks inside. She could not help to smile whenever she sees the two of them together. She swears that Chad is right. Jared and Jensen always make everyone turn to mush and mellow whenever they are together. Soon, she would have to make a serum for tummy ache due to sugar poisoning.

Jared is laying down in the middle of the king size bed with Jensen laying half on top of him. Jensen’s right leg is deposited snuggly between Jared’s legs. His body is curving above Jared’s pregnant belly and both arms cradle Jared’s sides. His fingers are never stopping tracing the curve of Jared’s nose, his eyebrows, his lips and his cheekbones.

“I just wish I could shift with you. Then, we could run through the forest together and-”

“-and mating by the cave under the full moon,” Jensen cuts in, “did you read Mac’s children’s books again? I swear those books put wild ideas in your head. We’re not letting our son read those.”

“As if you’re opposed to my wild idea.”

“Oh, I’m very much in love with all of your wild ideas baby, as long as I get to experience it.” Jensen ends his words with a bite on Jared’s lips.

Amber shakes her head at the couple on the bed and strides over.

“Alright, schmooping time is over.”

“Mind your own business Beta,” says Jensen distractedly. He is busy peppering Jared’s face with kisses while his mate giggling in enjoyment.  

“I am now,” Amber replies curtly, “because my business is to care for my patient’s wellbeing and health.” She stops at the side of the bed, puts down her bag on the bed, lays her right hand atop her left one in front of her skirt and watches the two grown up men teasing each other like young cubs.

“Let her do her work, Jensen…”

“What?!” Jensen sent a mock outrage look Jared’s way “You side with her?”

“Baby, I’m always on your side and I’m completely yours. Got the bump to prove it,” says Jared with a naughty smirk on his lips.

“Grrrrrr….” Jensen dives in to kiss Jared’s smiling lips and suck them. They continue making out for few minutes regardless of Amber standing over them. Jared’s arms loops around Jensen’s neck rubbing his hair and shoulders, moaning softly.

When Amber clears her throat rather noisily, Jensen reluctantly entangles his body from his mate, steps back after stealing few more kisses out of Jared and let Amber fusses over Jared for a while. He stands at the end of the bed narrowing his eyes at his best friend, arms folded on his chest. Jensen does not think of her as his best friend at the moment, though, more like the killjoy of his cuddling time with his Omega.

“I’m watching, Beta.”

“Yes, Alpha, I’m just doing my job. No need to go territorial with me,” Amber rolls her eyes making Jared snicker behind his hand.

Amber takes Jared’s temperature, his blood pressure and others measurements as Jared lays still on the bed smiling fondly at Jensen’s overprotective behavior.

“So, are you planning to attend the Howling tonight, Jensen?” asks Amber conversationally.

“I don’t know. Don’t wanna leave Jared alone.”

“I’ll be fine, Jen. My cousins are just in the next room with Emma. I’m sure they’ll move in here to keep me company while you go down to the forest.”

Jensen only sighs and looks down on the bed for a second before giving Jared his most solemn look. “I know, babe. I just worried. I almost lost you not two weeks ago.”

“Or I can join you.” Jared looks at Amber imploringly. “What do you think, Amber? I think I’m strong enough to attend the Howling tonight.”

“I advised your bed rest for a reason, Jared. Maybe next month if your condition remains stable and your chromosome readings are stronger.”

“When d’you think Jared’s dormant genes will become active?” inquires Jensen hopefully.

“Not sure.” Amber gathers all her instruments and packs her bag. “I’m guessing they won’t become active as long as Jared isn’t shifting but the last reading shows activity of Alpha genes along with abundance energy coursing around the womb. So, I think, next month Jared can try to shift when your pup is shifting again.”

Jared is grinning happily, rubbing his belly while saying, “I owe my life to my son.”

“This little wolf certainly is something,” Amber quickly adds, “ _but_ my order remains. Bed rest until I tell you otherwise.”

“Oh, he will. I’ll make sure of that,” promises Jensen much to the annoyance of his Omega.

Amber stands up and looks at Jensen imploringly. “So, should I expect you to join our ceremony in an hour, then?”

Jensen takes a deep breath and looks at Jared with a heavy heart and his mate offers him a soft understanding smile. Jared subtly tilts his head towards the balcony that overlooks the forest behind their compound in a ‘go ahead’ sign. A long sigh and a ruffled up hair later, Amber gets the Alpha’s confirmation in attending the Howling ceremony.

“I just got a lecture and motivational talk from Chad. I think I’m scarred for life,” says Amber with a deadpanned expression. “So, you better be there, Jensen.” Amber shoulders her bag and heads to the door.

“Go away now,” Jensen says shooing Amber with his hand while crawling onto the bed towards a snickering Jared.

“Have fun, boys.” Amber rolls her eyes in exasperation. Really, Jensen can be such a kid sometimes. It is hard to believe that the tough and powerful, sometimes scary, Alpha can be reduced to this being around his mated Omega. Jared really brings out the best out of Jensen.

“No, Jen, … no, stop…aaah haa haa haa …” and the last sound that Amber hears from the master bedroom before she closes the door is Jared’s hearty laugh.

Jensen shower kisses on both Jared’s swollen ankle before moving up to his thighs. Then rubs his face on his mate’s pregnant belly, chuckling every time he feels his son kicks back. Jared strokes Jensen’s hair lovingly humming random tones under his breath.

“Tonight’s Howling is important, Jen. I really wish I could attend. All those poor shwahaa would be lost without a howl to guide them back to their resting place.”

Jensen climbs up Jared’s body and settles on his right side. He gathers his Omega into his arms and they lay side by side facing each other with nary a millimeter separating them. They share a pillow and press their forehead together. Jensen loves it most when he can feel Jared’s belly pressed into his stomach. It feels like Jared is not the only one who carries their pup.

“They should’nt’ve been dead, Jay. It feels like our three years of progress means nothing. We still lose. Soon, Amber’s first generation of recipients will drop dead one by one. Tonight’s two will be the first shwahaa that I’ll be guiding back to the Goddess’ resting place due to the Fever, the first in three years. I feel like I’m stepping back to square one,” mutters Jensen morosely.

“They get better for three years, Jensen, maybe four and that’s better than nothing. It’s not a failure. You don’t fail, nor does Amber. None of us do. You said it yourself; a drop of serum cannot wipe out more than a century of neglect and ignorance. We need to live within our culture and you need to guide us. We’re fixing this society for our future generation and besides,” Jared smiles, “Amber found a way to save me. There’s still hope.”

“Not if you expect me to impregnate-”

Jared plants a kiss to his mate’s lips cutting off his words. “Not a quote of Chad’s!”

Jensen rolls them over to the left with his body bracketing Jared’s until he gets his mate under him. “Alright then,” Jensen smirks teasingly, “what do you suggest we do in an hour before I have to grow my fur and howl to the moon?”

Jared does not have a chance to answer because Jensen has buried his nose in his neck scenting him and proceeds to lick his skin, suck and worrying the pink skin between his teeth before nibbling on Jared’s earlobe.

“Hmmmm… why don’t …ah … we start with shedding you out of your clothes? … Don’t … hmmm want them to … oh, Jen … get ruined later, won’t we?”

“Best idea I’ve heard all day.”

Fin


End file.
